Optical communication systems utilize pulses of light, i.e. optical signals, through light channels or fiber optic cables in order to transmit data packets between devices. Traditionally, a transmitter will transmit an optical signal through the fiber optic cable to a receiver. The fiber optic cables operate in a one-way mode, such that a fiber optic cable can be used for transmitting or receiving but not both. Further, in order to route the optical signals throughout a network, devices such as switches and cross-connects must be used, as well as sophisticated clocking and multiplexing techniques. Additionally, in traditional optical communication systems, each communication module will require at least two fiber optic cables extending from a communication module of the device to effectuate two way communication for the device, i.e. one cable for transmitting and a second cable for receiving. Further, if direct two-way communication between devices is sought, each device will have 2*(N−1) fiber optic cables extending therefrom.
Thus, while transmission by optical signals does provide for high transmission rates, the drawbacks of traditional fiber optic communication systems make fiber optic communication systems impractical for smaller confined networks, such as LANs or vehicle communications systems, e.g. CANs. Thus, there is a need for an asynchronous optical communication system.